After Rwanda, Emmanuel Macron is in South Africa this Friday 28 May. A journey with a focus on health, while this country is the one that has been hit hardest by the Covid crisis on the African continent.
With our special correspondent in Pretoria, Pierre Firtion
As soon as they arrived in South Africa, Emmanuel Macron was received by his counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa. This state visit is Emmanuel Macron’s first in South Africa. A trip that was to take place last year but which had to be postponed due to the health crisis.
This journey has several challenges. Health only since South Africa is the country on the continent that has been hit hardest by the Covid-19 crisis. A support program for vaccine production for Africa will be launched this afternoon during a visit to the University of Pretoria. An initiative that France, the European Union, the United States and the World Bank have been working on for many months.
Restart exchanges
This visit is also financially important. Trade between the two countries has been hit hard by the crisis. The aim is therefore to revive French investment. The last question is diplomatic. The two presidents will discuss in particular the situation in Mozambique. “South Africa is an important partner on the African continent and more generally, it is the only African member of the G20 who is regularly invited to the G7,” commented in the French president’s entourage.
In any case, this journey confirms a strategy at work since Emmanuel Macron’s arrival in the Elysee: the opening of France to non-French-speaking African countries.
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